Bean-snipper.



F. WEGNER.

BEAN SNIFPER. APPLICATION` man 1AN.10. 1914.

Patented '0049.

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FRED WEGNER, OF FAIRPORT, NEW YORK. XSSGNOR TO GEO. W. COBB, OF NEW YORKQA'N. v`

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Specification of Iietters Patent.

PatentedOct. 5, 1915;.,

Application led January 10, 1914. Serial No; 811,293.A

ends of string beans as is usual 1n preparing the same for canning.

A prime object of the invention is. to provide an improved apparatus of thischaracter, which while exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction is adapted to handle beans rapidly and present them in proper alinement automatically and with `precision for action by the snipping cutters.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention I utilize the action of gravity in alining first one end and then the other of the beans for snipping, the beans beintgT carried in holders by a convever mechanism that presents them upright with one end up to a cutter for snippina one end and then at a Asubsequent point of the conveyers travel 'presents the beans turned over with their other ends up to ya second cutter for snippingr the remaining end. ln connectiongvith this mechanism I preferably provide alining; barriers or backing' plates on which the ends of the beans rest in the positions for snipping the respective ends.

The above and other obiects and features of the invention will be better understood from the following" detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying' drawings, and will be therefore pointed out in the appended claim.

Referring to the drawings: Figure l is a side elevation of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, a small part being broken away in section. and Fig. 2 is a plan of such apparatus. v

Similar reference numerals in the several figures indicate the same parts.

Upon a suitable framework l, I mount on journals 2 and 3, spaced apart pairs of sprocket wheels 4, l and 5, 5 onwhich are fitted at each side endless conveyer chains 6, 7; the sprocket wheels being;A disposed in approximately horizontal alinement so that the stretches of the chains between them eX'- tend horizontally. These chains as showgi,Y have relatively longlinksYandto' Yea'chlrink is fixed at one'side a bean. holder 8, there being' thus a series of these holders which set voluite closely together on the horizontal stretch of the chains. hese bean holders are of oblong form since the chains 6, 7 are spaced much farther apart than the width of the holders S, andl therefore sub-divide said holders by transverse ribs 9 to form a series, shown as four, of pockets inthe respective holders, each adapted to receive'a limited number of beans and hold them upriaht. open so that the beans as disposed therein when the pockets are upright on the upper horizontal -stretch of the conveyer can drop therethrough until their lower ends come against an alining'board 0r barrier 10 suit# ably mounted on the framework. l The alininf.: board 'l0 preferably extends substantially the entire length of the horizontal upper stretch of the conveyer so as to hold beans in any of the pockets along this stretch and it is positioned a distance below the bottoms of the 4pockets corresponding to the length of the bean ends to be removed. Near the forward end of the upper stretch of the conveyor mount a suitable cutter shown asl afdiagonally4 arranged fined knife 11 in positionl to snip olf the bean ends preferably by a shearing action in coperation with the bottoms of the pockets. The manner in which this cutter operates will portion of- Fig. l. The beans thus snipped at one end are carried forward by .the conveyer movement until they are turned around the sprocket wheels 5, 5 to an inverted position on the lower stretch vof the conveyer.

To prevent the beans from dropping out A The bottoms of the holders 8 arebe clearly understood from the broken away the proper distance from the outer ends of the pockets as determined from the amount to be snipped from the beans. The extent of this aliningv board in the line of the conyveyer movement is suiiicient to permit allv the beans to be alined b y f {ravit}7 and at the outer end of the board I mount a cutter 15 `similar to the cutter l1' and likewise adapted to snip the bean ends'preferably by'shearh.

ing and in ,coperating with the outer ends of the pockets. As thebeans thus snipped atboth ends 'continue their movement they are discharged from the. apparatus as the pockets are aboutl to start on their return upward swingaround the sprocket wheels 4, 4. y

y It is desirable for'the` correct and proper operation of the-'machanism that the conveyer in its horizontal stretches which present the beans to the shearingr cutters should be mored'in accurate and precise alinement so as to bring' the bottoms and-tops of the pockets intoproper shearing relation. to the respective cutters, and for this purpose I provide ,e'uide bars .16. 17 carried by thev framework and having guidex'ays at their sides in which the sides of'the respective chains areV fitted so that they are caused to move therein with precision.,

.It is to be understood thatthere is no special significance in haying the operative lstretches of the conveyer arranged precisely or even nearly horizontal, the only requisite 1n this respect being;` that there be a horlzontal extension of'these partsof the conveyer either wither without a. vertical td1- rection component, suiiicient to'aline the beans in the-holders by gravity.. Further, While'I show the bean holders as extending,r

at rightangles from the conveyer, it is to be understood that only such an angular disposition thereof is necessary as will in'.

sure the bean alinement in the manner described.

`IVhile the described embodiment of my invention is a simplev and practicable one, I am aware-that thev principles of the inven- -tion can be embodied in yvaried structural forms and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered `as illustrative and not restrictive, and refer to the appended claim rather than to the foregomg description to indicate the scope of the invention. Also while I refer in the descrip tion andI claim to beans as the articles beinnT treated I do not desire to be limited to this use of the invention but desire4 this reference to be considered as typifying` any articles 'or commodity adaptedv to be handled in a manner analogous to the operationA of bean snipping v I claim as my invention:

A' device of the kind described comprising' an endlessconveyer having upper and lower horizontally extendingstretches, bean holders projectingtransversely from said'conveyerdivided into a plurality of pockets of limited size to hold beans upstanding therein. said pockets havingT alinin, ,r and cutting means coperati ve therewith on the upper and'lower stretches respectively forv sn1p` ping` the' bean ends while `held in upstandingv position. v

FRED WEGNER.

fitnessest ANNA P. I/VEGNER, IVALTER F; XVEGN En. 

